Wearable Towel

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are embodiments for a wearable towel. The towel may be carried by the user in a manner similar to a shirt. It may allow for quick access to a towel when needed. Stitching may be used to taper the towel to a person&#39;s body.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 61/382,421 filed on Sep. 13, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to a wearable towel garment.

BACKGROUND

A towel is a piece of absorbent fabric used for drying. There are many types of towels, such as bath towels, beach towels, kitchen towels, sports towels, and the like, which serve different purposes. Conventional towels, such as those mentioned above, may be carried by a person by tying the towel around the waist or torso.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are embodiments for a wearable towel. The towel may be carried by the user in a manner similar to a shirt. It may allow for quick access to a towel when needed. Stitching may be used to taper the towel to a person's body.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to limitations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary view of a conventional towel;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary view of a wearable towel;

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary front worn view of a wearable towel;

FIG. 3B illustrates an exemplary back worn view of a wearable towel;

FIG. 3C illustrates an exemplary perspective worn view of an embodiment of a wearable towel;

FIG. 3D illustrates an exemplary front worn view of an embodiment of a wearable towel;

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with a neckline opening;

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with a neckline opening;

FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with a fastener;

FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary close-up view of a wearable towel with a fastener;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary front worn view of a wearable towel;

FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with a fastener;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with a belted attachment;

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel;

FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with buttons;

FIG. 18 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with hood;

FIG. 19 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with character attachments;

FIG. 20 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with pockets; and

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary wearable towel with oxford collar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In describing preferred embodiments of the subject matter of the present disclosure, as illustrated in the Figures, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. The claimed subject matter, however, is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose.

The wearable towel, as disclosed herein, may allow a person to have a towel accessible on his/her body. This may create a usefulness to the wearer. A wearable towel may soak up as much perspiration as any towel.

The wearable towel may drape the body to absorb moisture. It can absorb water, perspiration, and act as a barrier against wind or sun. The wearable towel, for example, may be used as a conventional towel, a cover up, and a sun guard garment.

The wearable towel may be worn from a hotel room directly to poolside or beachside, for example. It may eliminate the need to carry both a t-shirt and a towel. It may fully drape the chest to waist area and the upper back to lower back areas. This may allow for total moisture absorption and sun protection of these areas. The wearable towel may be easily removed to absorb moisture from other parts of the body and placed back in its original position. For example, it may be removed with a natural overhead motion when an athlete checks into a sports game.

Athletes may use the wearable towel during time out, huddles, halftime, and bench time. The wearable towel may be worn to maintain body heat and comfort. It may be used while working out, walking, and jogging. It may be used after getting out of the shower or bath. The wearable towel may be used at beaches and at pools. It may be used as a cover up and a towel. The wearable towel may also provide a comfortable and protective surface for laying upon or lounging while sun bathing.

A wearable towel may be used during massage or physical therapy, wherein the towel may provide easy access to the client's back and shoulders, while keeping the client warm. A wearable towel may be used to wipe oils and massage gels from hands during and after a massage or therapy session, in the same manner as a towel. The wearable towel may be personalized with the spa or other establishment's name and/or logo. It offers the wearer the convenience of wearing one garment for multiple uses. The wearable towel may offer different moisture absorption selections, which may be constructed based on the intended use of the wearable towel (e.g., swimming versus football).

FIG. 1 illustrates conventional towel 100 laid flat. Towel 100 is in a rectangular form and may be made of absorbent material. FIG. 2 illustrates a view of an embodiment of a wearable towel 200 laid flat wherein towel 200 has a tailored design and has neck line 220. The neck line area may be made of reinforced, tear resistant material, piping, or reinforced stitching, which may reduce the possibility of tearing, for example, due to tugging. The tailored design of towel 200 may be accomplished by cutting towel 200 down the middle and stitching towel 200 in a selected, contoured design. For example, stitching 210 may allow for length sides 212 and width sides 214 of towel 200 to be tapered. Tapering may allow for towel 200 to be fitted as further described herein. In some embodiments, towel 200 may be created by obtaining a substantially rectangular conventional towel and cutting the conventional towel lengthwise. The conventional towel may then be stitched so that it has a tapered look as described herein. The cutting and stitching process may be done so that there is substantially no loss of fabric. The towel may be folded where cut and then stitched, therefore, leaving more fabric for absorption of moisture.

FIG. 3A illustrates a front worn view of an embodiment of wearable towel 300. Towel 300 may have stitching 310 and opening 320. Opening neckline 320 may be where a head may go through so that towel 300 may rest on a person's shoulders. Neckline 320 may be an ending point of stitching 310. In some embodiments, neckline 320 may be made of a material which may have a different texture than towel 300.

Stitching 310 may allow for the towel to have a fitted and/or tapered look. In FIG. 3A, stitching 310 may allow towel 300 to naturally hang down and look like a shirt with sleeves and tapered to fit the body. The cutting and stitching may be done to trim away excess material that may cause the wearable towel not to lay flat.

FIGS. 3B thru 3D illustrate different views of towel 300. The stitching as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3A thru 3D and described herein may minimize manufacturing costs while producing a product that may be tapered and worn comfortably. The wearable towel may be mass produced in a one-size fits all type fashion with stitching as described herein.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B illustrate wearable towel 400 with a tapered design with neckline opening 420. Stitching may be done in a manner so that it blends into the fabric of the wearable towel and is not easily seen. A stitched wearable towel may, as described in FIG. 3, look similar to FIGS. 4A and 4B because the stitching may blend in with the fabric. The tapered design also may be accomplished without stitching using a direct shape type method. With a direct shape type method of manufacturing the wearable towel may be similar in design to FIGS. 4A and 4B. The towel 400, for example, may be cut out of a larger cloth to yield the tapered design.

FIG. 5A illustrates a wearable towel with a tapered design with a snap button fastener. FIG. 5B illustrates a close-up view of the wearable towel with a snap button fastener. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the tapered wearable towel may have fasteners to keep the sides closed, if needed. In FIG. 5A, towel 500 has neckline hole 520. Towel 500 may also have male button or snap fastener 530 and female button or snap fastener 532 that may be used to attach the front and the back of the towel. There may be multiple fasteners. The fasteners may be clothing cord locks, hooks, hook and eye tapes, hook and loop tapes, buckles, metal buckles, buttons, zippers, and the like, without limitation.

FIG. 6 illustrates a wearable towel with a tapered design. As shown, towel 600, for example, may be used for infants. Towel 600 may have stitching located in middle 610 and neckline hole 620. Towel 600 may also have breakaway fasteners 622 which may allow the towel 600 to be classified as a child safe garment. Breakaway fasteners 622 may allow for towel 600 to easily breakaway from the child, if necessary. Breakaway fasteners may include buttons, hook and loops (e.g., Velcro®), or other fasteners that may breakaway under a force that doesn't allow for a child to choke or have another injury because of the holding or fastening force of the fastener.

FIG. 7A illustrates a wearable towel with a tapered design that may have a sleeveless cut. In FIG. 7A, the towel may have neckline hole 720 and sleeveless cut 725. With sleeveless cut 725, the towel may drape close to a person's shoulder blade. FIG. 7B illustrates a wearable towel with a tapered design that may have an elongated cut. In FIG. 7B, the towel may have neckline hole 740 and elongated cut 745. Elongated cut 745 may allow the towel to drape past a person's elbow and/or cover the person's arms fully (e.g., for colder environments).

FIGS. 8-21 are additional illustrations of exemplary embodiments of a wearable towel. FIG. 8 illustrates a wearable towel with a highly absorbent material inside of it. The dotted lines at 805 illustrate a highly absorbent material (e.g., chamois-type towel) that may be placed inside (e.g., in between layers of another, preferably absorbent material) another outside absorbent material which may be cotton, for example.

FIG. 9 illustrates a wearable towel with a with a shoulder type tailoring. The line at 905 illustrates another possible position where the wearable towel may be stitched to be more fitted/tailored. FIG. 10 illustrates a wearable towel with a with a V-cut type tailoring. The line at 1005 illustrates another possible position where the wearable towel may be stitched to be more fitted/tailored.

FIG. 11 illustrates a wearable towel with Velcro® straps (i.e., hook and loops) or regular cord or strings. This may allow for people to fasten both sides of the wearable towel together. In FIG. 11, holes for the straps to loop around are shown at 1105 and Velcro straps or regular cord or strings are shown at 1110. The hook and loop fastener may also be used to hold the towel together in a folded position when it is not worn. In other words, the hook and loop fasteners may be used to prevent the towel from unfolding when folded.

FIG. 12 illustrates a wearable towel with zipper 1205 on the front and back. FIG. 13 illustrates a wearable towel with belt 1310 and loop 1305 for fastening the sides. FIG. 14 illustrates a wearable towel with a cross top to bottom (diagonal) stitch type tailoring. The line at 1405 illustrates another possible position where the wearable towel may be stitched to allow the towel to be more fitted/tailored.

FIG. 15 illustrates a wearable towel with a zig-zag stitch type tailoring. The line at 1505 illustrates another possible position where the wearable towel may be stitched to be more fitted/tailored. FIG. 16 illustrates a wearable towel with a double length-wise stitch type tailoring. The line at 1605 illustrates another possible position where the wearable towel may be stitched to be more fitted/tailored.

FIG. 17 illustrates a wearable towel with a fastener attached opening. In FIG. 17, buttons or male snaps may be shown at 1705, holes or female snaps may be shown at 1715, and 1710 illustrates an opening which may be in the front and/or back when the wearable towel is not buttoned. FIG. 18 illustrates a wearable towel with hood 1805 attached.

FIG. 19 illustrates a wearable towel with multiple fanciful or decorative elements attached, such as appendages, as shown. In FIG. 19, for example, a cartoon-like hand appendage may be at 1905, a foot appendage may be at 1910 and a tail appendage may be at 1915. These appendages may be useful in many different ways. Appendage 1905 may be connected to appendage 1910 or 1915 to close the wearable towel. Attachment of the appendages may be done via common fasteners, such as any of the variety of fasteners mentioned herein. The attachment of the appendages may occur by interlocking the appendages. For example, appendage 1905 (e.g., fingers/toes) may be interlocked with appendage 1910 (e.g., fingers/toes). In addition, the appendages may be have suction cups to allow for the towel to be hung on a wall (e.g., a glass wall or shower door) and spread out fully to increase exposure of the towel surface to the air for faster air drying.

FIG. 20 illustrates a wearable towel with one or more pocket 2005 which may, in some embodiments, be waterproof. Such pockets may allow for storage of items such as keys and wallets. FIG. 21 illustrates a wearable towel with collar 2105 which may, in some embodiments, be waterproof.

Although a wearable towel has been described in connection with the exemplary embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments without deviating from the embodiments. Figures are not drawn to scale and may be viewed in conjunction with the detailed description. Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. Therefore, the wearable towel as described herein should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims. 

What is claimed:
 1. A wearable towel comprising: a towel-like material; a head opening, wherein the wearable towel tapers when worn.
 2. The wearable towel of claim 1, wherein the tapering is based on length-wise stitching of the towel.
 3. The wearable towel of claim 1, wherein the tapering is based on a direct shape-type method of manufacturing.
 4. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising a fastener.
 5. The wearable towel of claim 4, wherein the fastener is positioned on a shoulder section of the towel.
 6. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising a shoulder section cut to give a sleeveless look when the towel is worn.
 7. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising a shoulder section elongated cut to cover the arm of the towel wearer when worn.
 8. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising detachable child-safe fasteners.
 9. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising a chamois-type material.
 10. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising a hook and loop fastener, wherein the hook and loop fastener holds the wearable towel together when attached, and wherein the hook and loop fastener may be joined to prevent the towel from unfolding when folded.
 11. The wearable towel of claim 3, wherein the tapering is provided by stitching selected from the group consisting of width-wise stitching, double width-wise stitching, V-cut stitching, zig-zag stitching, diagonal stitching, double diagonal stitching, length-wise stitching, double length-wise stitching, and combinations thereof.
 12. The wearable towel of claim 2, further comprising a zipper, the zipper moving length-wise on the towel.
 13. The wearable towel of claim 1, further comprising means for affixing a belt, wherein the means for affixing a belt comprise holes, loops, or and combinations thereof.
 14. The wearable towel of claim 1, wherein the tapering is provided by length-wise stitching of the towel, wherein the length-wise stitching is approximately along the same axial line as the head opening.
 15. A method of creating a wearable towel, the method comprising: cutting a towel in a plurality of sections; reconnecting the cut towel along cut lines of the plurality of sections, wherein the reconnection of the towel gives the wearable towel a tapered look when worn, and wherein a centrally disposed opening is formed to allow passage of a head.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein reconnecting comprises stitching.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein reconnecting comprises a zipper.
 18. The method of claim 15, further comprising cutting the towel widthwise.
 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising cutting the towel lengthwise.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising child safe detachable fasteners attached along the widthwise cut of the towel. 